Tip takes another turn of ownership

The Tip of the Island restaurant/pub in Anna Maria has been sold to brothers from Bradenton who plan to convert the establishment into a pastry shop with a limited lunch and dinner menu.

If true, the demise of the Tip as a “pub” will bring joy to residents near the establishment, particularly those on Palmetto Avenue, who have frequently complained, depending on various owners, that the peace and quiet of their neighborhood was disrupted by unruly customers and loud music.

According to several longtime city residents, the Tip began as a small diner in the early 1960s. Nearby residents apparently had few problems with the establishment during that period, as the majority of the restaurant’s business was the local breakfast and lunch trade.

But all that changed in the 1990s, when new owners took over and converted the business to a beer and wine pub. They also began hosting live music on weekends and the late hours of the business and loud noise of the music disrupted the peaceful lives residents in adjacent and nearyby homes.

Palmetto Avenue residents Robin Wall and Joe Perricone were among those who complained forcefully to city commissioners about the Tip, but with little success.

Then-Commissioner Linda Cramer, who lives across Gulf Drive from the restaurant, made a concerted effort to bring code enforcement violations against the owners. Despite Cramer’s efforts, however, code enforcement officers found no violations at the establishment.

Still, trouble persisted at the Tip.

On one occasion, police, K-9 dogs and Manatee County Sheriff’s Office helicopters were called to the Tip after a fight between two customers in the parking lot. One suspect fled through the nearby residential neighborhood, prompting panic among the residents, but he was captured without incident by the MCSO.

New owners in 2003 tried to run the business without live entertainment, but found that music was the major draw for customers. Eventually, those operators returned the business to the prior owner and it was sold again.

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